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Water flows through the dam at Rodman Reservoir on Jan. 13, 2015, near Palatka. (Will Dickey/Florida Times-Union)

Will.Dickey@jacksonville.com—01/13/15—Fishermen try their luck in the Ocklawaha River at the Rodman Reservoir dam Tuesday, January 13, 2015 near Palatka, Florida. (The Florida Times-Union, Will Dickey)

Bob.Self@jacksonville.com—1/22/15—Fishermen try their luck fishing in the Rodman Reservoir near the earthen berm dam that holds back the waters of the Ocklawaha River. Erika Ritter’s family has owned property along the Ocklawaha River in Eureka, Florida for several generations and lost part of their river frontage in the late 1960’s when the property was taken for the construction of the Cross Florida Barge Canal. Her father was a supporter of the canal project but her mother opposed its construction and the destruction of the natural portions of the Ocklawaha River on and around her families’ property. Ritter’s mother has passed on but she carries on the battle to see the Ocklawaha restored to its original condition. (The Florida Times-Union/Bob Self)

TALLAHASSEE | A team of environmentalists has ratcheted up the decades-long battle over the future of the Rodman Reservoir by filing legal action to force removal of the dam that created it.

A petition was filed Monday in hopes that the U.S. Forest Service will order the dam to be torn down according to terms outlined in a now-expired agreement between the federal government and the state of Florida. If the dam is removed, the large reservoir resulting from the stoppage of flow would drain and flow would return to the Ocklawaha River, one of the main tributaries to the St. Johns River.

“This petition seeks to provide meaningful structure to the coordinated management of that land, with the clear end objective of partially restoring the Ocklawaha River,” said Jane West, an environmental and land-use attorney in St. Augustine filing the petition on behalf of two men, also attorneys, who are members of the Florida Defenders of the Environment.

The Rodman dam, formally known as the Kirkpatrick Dam, was built in 1968 to hold back the Ocklawaha River as part of the construction of the Cross Florida Barge Canal, an intended shortcut for the shipping industry through the Florida peninsula. By 1971, President Richard Nixon had agreed to halt the project, but the canal was not officially deauthorized until 1990.

By that time, the reservoir of flooded land created by the dam had become a destination point for bass fishing and other recreational activities. Putnam County residents and businesses fought to save the reservoir, saying that it had environmental and economic benefit even though the canal project was abandoned.

Larry Harvey is a Putnam County commissioner and executive director of the Save Rodman Reservoir nonprofit. He described the petition as a “last-hope effort” of opponents who are hoping to force change before President Donald Trump’s administration gets in office.

Harvey, who lives in Interlachen, said the reservior creates a habitat where fish, manatees, eagles and bears thrive. Allowing the Ocklawaha to flow freely won’t improve the health of the St. Johns River, he said, but it will harm the animals who are thriving as things are now.

“It’s amazing to me that people will want to defend the environment also want to destroy it,” Harvey said.

Environmental groups like Audubon Florida and the St. Johns Riverkeeper do not agree. The say the backstop caused by the reservoir negatively affects at least 20 springs and destroyed 9,200 acres of floodplains and forests, while costing the state roughly $1 million each year to maintain. The ample bass fishing that the reservoir is known for is artificially boosted by scheduled drawdowns of the water level every three years, which allows habitat more suitable for fish production.

The state received a special-use permit in 1994 to allow the dam and other structures to remain on federal lands. It was extended several times, but the most recent terms expired in 2010 and have not been renewed. The court action Monday asks the U.S. Forest Service to adhere to terms in the permit that call for structures to be removed and land restored upon its expiration.

Supporters of removing the dam and restoring the river said they have tried more diplomatic approaches in the past to no avail, which is why they are now taking administrative actions. They also say there are legal options on the table if this doesn’t work.

“It’s been a struggle because most people want to take a more measured approach, a more conciliatory approach than folks like me,” said Bruce Kaster, who, along with Joseph Little, is named in the petition. “I finally gave up on getting backing from a lot of environmental organizations. Professor Little stepped up and said he and I will do it ourselves.”

Local legislators’ support

There have been many attempts over the years to have the dam removed. Often standing in the way were elected officials like Sen. Jim King, a Palatka Republican, who was a staunch defender of keeping the reservoir intact. He died in 2009, but it is said that while on his deathbed he asked allies in Tallahassee to agree to keep up his fight.

Newly elected state Sen. Keith Perry, R-Gainesville, and Rep. Bobby Payne, R-Palatka, both pledged to support efforts to keep the Rodman Reservoir intact.

The most recent attempt to remove the dam was an early 2015 agreement between the St. Johns Riverkeeper, City of Jacksonville and Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce. They pledged to work together to come up with a legislative plan to restore the Ocklawaha River in exchange for the Riverkeeper agreeing to drop legal challenges to dredging the St. Johns River to accommodate Jacksonville’s port.

Residents and elected officials in Putnam County complained that they were not included in the negotiations that focused on Duval County, and legislators representing the area said they would never accept its terms. The deal died without a serious effort to get anything done during the 2015 legislative session, and it wasn’t on the table at all in 2016.

Tia Mitchell: (850) 933-1321

Environmentalists try new administrative angle to force removal of Rodman dam- By